THE remarkable life of one-time rugby ace Jack (Sogger) Waring was played out against the sort of rugged working-class background that few people below middle-age could possibly imagine. For his recent death at the age of 84 was the closing chapter on a way of existence that has disappeared forever.

And he took the secret of his peculiar nickname with him. For not even the closest of relatives seem to have a clue as to where that Sogger tag came from.

Rugby League fanatic Denis Whittle helped piece together biographical details of the old-time Saints international centre, who had got off to the worst possible start by badly breaking his collar bone at 16, playing in 'shilling trials' against open-age competition. But four years later he was proudly pulling on an international jersey.

One of eleven children, he was born in Doulton Street, just a stone's throw from the Knowsley Road ground which he was later to illuminate with his power and skills.

The start of the 1920s was a time of shared backyard lavatories, coal-fire heating and tin bathtubs left hanging from big rusty nails on the yard wall, until being dragged into the living room and plonked on the fireside rug in preparation for the family's 'bath night' ritual. With thirteen in the Waring household it must have taken some careful organising!

Jack thrived in this lively family atmosphere and while a pupil at St Teresa's school his inherent rugby talent was already in evidence. Big for his age, his physique was built up by carrying his crippled brother Walter to school and back each day.

Younger brothers Tom and Gerald also made their mark in rugby league, playing for St Helens and Warrington, respectively. A certain legend called Duggie Greenall, then a teenager, signed for Saints about the same time as Tom.

Hard times during the 1920s and 30s were made even more heartbreaking for the family with the loss of Jack's three older brothers, Bill (who played for St Helens Recs) Sam and Joe, together with sister Elsie.

Their dad, Sam senior, had been unable to continue working down the pit after suffering a 1914-18 world war injury, being buried alive when a mortar shell landed. So, at the age of 14, Jack found himself the breadwinner, working at the Rainhill firm of Stoves and being paid a man's wage for a man's job.

Massive forearms

This involved using enormous steel pincers, and all the muscle-power involved in his labours built up massive forearms and physical strength for a later sporting career. His fitness was further boosted by running to work from his Eccleston home each day to save on family expenses.

Then came crisis when Jack was crocked in those shilling trials. No doctor would immediately see him - medical attention had to be paid for then - until a kindly neighbour forked out the fee.

It seemed Jack's rugby days were over before they'd really begun. But the injury healed perfectly and he pressed on with his passion for the game, playing right centre for the amateur clubs of Thatto Heath and Star Rovers.

Talent-spotted, he was picked for the Saints A-team while still a teenager in 1938, scoring a hat-trick of tries on debut and from then never being out of the first team. Family pride knew no bounds a year later when Jack, picked for England against Wales, romped in for a last-minute winning try. The whole Waring family made a trip to the local cinema the following week just to see this on Pathe News.

Jack seemed a certainty for right centre spot when a Test tour to Australia beckoned. Outbreak of the 1939-45 war dashed these hopes, but sporting life remained great for Jack, guesting in 1940 with a star-studded Dewsbury select team, managed by Eddie Waring, famous BBC rugby commentator of bygone seasons.

The line-up included the likes of Gus Risman, Jim Sullivan and Jackie Bradbury; and the team were on what was regarded as fantastic money - £13 for a win. Crafty Jack, then in the army, appeared in the programme as A. N. Other to make sure of getting his forces pay, as well!

But Gunner Waring of the Royal Artillery was then transferred to Egypt for the remainder of the war. His rugby talents remained on parade, representing the Army and United Services against the uniformed cream of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Then came his second big blow. A severe knee ligament injury left him with his best playing days behind him. But this might have proved a blessing in disguise. Many comrades were killed in the big push against the might of Germany, whereas Jack was sent back to Blighty, to convalesce at Southport, and to marry his childhood sweetheart Eva Mawdsley.

Post-war, Jack - though by now not the player he had once been - returned to the rugby fray in 1946 playing for Belle Vue Rangers, Featherstone Rovers and for Warrington where he played alongside brother Gerald. The great Sogger wound up his career as A team coach in 1951.

Contentious views

Jack held a few highly contentious views on all-time greats of the game - although the opinion of a man who played during an era of the likes of Alf Ellaby, Brian Bevan and brothers Jimmy and Tommy Stott had to be respected.

He upset Tom Van Vollenhoven fans at Knowsley Road by declaring that Warrington's Aussie flier, Bevan, was the greatest-ever wingman. He regarded Jim Sullivan as the finest of full-backs and Alex Murphy the greatest player of them all. His top vote regarding the current crop of backs went to Wigan's Kris Radlinski.

Jack fathered four children, John, Trevor, Freda and Denise. He wanted them, unlike himself, to have white-collared careers, and they duly obliged, the boys becoming teachers and the girls office workers. The brothers had a shot at rugby, but failed to inherit their dad's ability. Freda, however, became an outstanding sprinter.

Jack, from O'Sullivan Crescent, Blackbrook, spent the bulk of working life as a foreman at Triplex, leading a happy life until the death of his beloved wife six years ago. Even with nine grandchildren and a great-granddaughter to cherish, life became a struggle for the grieving Jack. Good friends pulled him through, but heart trouble, Parkinson's disease and a crippling knee injury, the legacy of his rugby days, finally took their toll.

Stubbornly independent, he point-blank refused to enter a residential or nursing home and ended his days in Whiston Hospital, with his children around him.